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Community Engagement Update
March 2025
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Shaping future care at our Quality Priorities event
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 On Tuesday 25 February, we welcomed patients, families, carers and members of our community to Medway Maritime Hospital for our Quality Priorities public event. This was a fantastic opportunity for people to share their thoughts on where we should focus our efforts to improve care in 2025/26.
The event began with a warm welcome from Sarah Vaux, Interim Chief Nursing Officer, followed by Lyndsay Barrow, Head of Quality and Patient Safety, who provided an update on our progress against the Quality Priorities for 2024/25; celebrating achievements and identifying areas for further improvement.
Attendees then took part in interactive discussions, exploring three key areas of quality improvement:
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Patient Safety – keeping safety at the heart of everything we do.
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Patient Experience – improving how people feel about their care.
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Clinical Effectiveness – striving for the best possible health outcomes.
Following the group discussions, we shared key themes and insights. The feedback and ideas gathered will help shape our Quality Priorities for 2025/26, ensuring they reflect the needs and expectations of our patients and community.
The event ended with a dedicated question and answer session.
One attendee said afterwards that the event 'demonstrated the Trust’s desire to listen and involve service users.'
A huge thank you to everyone who took part.
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Governors meet public for first Coffee and Chat |
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Thank you to everyone who supported our first Coffee and Chat session. Our Public Governors, supported by the Engagement Team, spent time talking with the public in the Atrium—and it was a great success!
This informal session provides an opportunity for governors to hear directly from patients, members, and local people about their views and experiences at the hospital, while enjoying a hot drink. These insights are invaluable in helping our governors identify key themes and trends that matter most to patients which could be raised with the Trust Board.
Coffee and Chat sessions will run regularly throughout the year, providing an ongoing opportunity for governors to engage with the community and make sure we stay connected.
Upcoming Coffee and Chat sessions:
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Monday 28 April 2025, 10am to 12pm
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Friday 11 July 2025, 2pm to 4pm
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Tuesday 14 October 2025, 10am to 12pm
Come and say hello, have a chat and enjoy a hot drink.
There is no need to book, but feel free to let us know if you are planning to attend so that we can contact you if we need to.
Up to date information about Governors and events can be found on our website.
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Governor elections will be held in May 2025
 We are holding elections for Public Governors in May 2025. Two seats will be available:
- One in Medway
- One in Rest of England and Wales
Public Governors provide a vital link between the public and the Board, making sure patients’ views are heard and represented.
Terms begin August 2025.
Visit our website to find out more.
Contact our Membership Office.
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Engaging with young people |
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We were delighted to be invited to Medway Youth Council’s Young Persons’ Conference 2025.
Members of our Engagement Team had the opportunity to host a stand at the marketplace, where we welcomed more than 40 young people in less than an hour.
Our visitors played a fun trivia game to find out more about the hospital and were able to learn about careers in the NHS, volunteering and work experience at the hospital.
We look forward to continuing to strengthen our ties with the youth council to ensure we engage with young people about hospital services.
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Tell us what you think of our hospital website |
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If you have recently visited our website, www.medway.nhs.uk, we'd love to hear about your experience.
Feedback helps us to review what we do; celebrating the things we do well and highlighting areas for improvement.
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Do you know a Medway Maritime Hospital Hero? |
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 To celebrate the outstanding achievements and commitment of hospital staff, the search is on to find the Medway Maritime Hospital Hero for 2025.
The Hospital Hero award recognises somebody who has done something extraordinary or made a real difference to patients’ lives or their friends or family and is once again kindly sponsored by the Kent Messenger who will choose a winner from nominations received from members of the public.
The winner will be presented with this special award at the hospital’s Star Awards ceremony on Thursday 12 June which will celebrate the work of staff and volunteers to put patients first.
Anyone who works in the hospital can be nominated, regardless of their role.
Nominations (which close on Monday 17 March) should include the person’s name and department they work in and a short description (no more than 500 words) of why they deserve to win the Medway Maritime Hospital Hero Award for 2025. They can be sent by email to medway@thekmgroup.co.uk or through the form which is in the Medway Messenger.
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Join the Positi-Tea and Coffee Mornings at Leysdown Community Hub for a great chance to meet new people and discover what’s happening on the Isle of Sheppey.
The next session will be on Thursday, 6th March, from 9.30am to 11am, where our friendly team will be on hand to talk about local activities, clubs, and support groups.
For more information, call 01795 585335 or email office@sheppeymatters.org.uk.
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If you’ve been working on your fitness, why not flex your brain power too? Improving brain fitness can help reduce the risk of dementia and cognitive decline, while enhancing mental agility, memory, and reasoning skills.
Medway Adult Education offers a variety of workshops and courses, from plumbing and floristry to yoga and languages.
Explore the courses available at Medway Adult Education.
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Choosing the right NHS service |
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NHS Kent and Medway would like to know why people make the choices they do when attending a healthcare facility for advice or treatment.
The Integrated Care Board visited us last month to ask people about their ‘Stop Think Choose’ campaign, which has been launched to help direct people to the most appropriate health service for their needs.
The www.StopThinkChoose.co.uk website lists a range of treatment options, including a map of pharmacies and details of urgent care services in Kent and Medway. Take a look next time you have an urgent medical need that is not life-threatening.
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Gather your team and join the Charity Quiz Night!
 We hope you can join a fun night, while supporting the The Medway Hospital Charity.
If you would like to book a team, please contact The Medway Hospital Charity: medwayft.charity@nhs.net
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Organ donation is the gift of life.
Grab some time to talk about it today with loved ones and add your decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.
This is the official record which specialist nurses check if a person dies in circumstances where organ donation is possible, so it’s important to register your decisions here and share them with the people you love.
Recording your decision takes just a couple of minutes online – click here to do it: https://bit.ly/4169cXu |
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